Bicycle riders, their families and others will gather Sunday (May 5) to honor Pierre Lallement, a former Ansonia resident who received the first patent for the pedaled bicycle.
“The hope is people will come down to Main Street to enjoy the day on their bikes,” said Vinnie Scarlata, chairman of Ansonia’s Economic Development Commission. “It’s all about cycling and taking advantage of our roots and our history.”
The Pierre Lallement Festival of Bikes begins at about 11 a.m. when bicyclists complete an annual bike ride from the New Haven Green to Ansonia’s Webster Park, just behind Big Y.
Lallement probably took the same route as he tested his new invention, said Marian O’Keefe, the local historian whose research helped bring his invention to light.
Born in France, he traveled to Ansonia in 1865 “looking for work,” O’Keefe said.
He reportedly created the bicycle by adding pedals, a seat and cranks to a forerunner of the bicycle called a “dandy horse.”
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He received a patent for his invention in 1866 in New Haven. Albert Pope eventually bought the patent, and Pope’s company later made Columbia bicycles.
Sunday’s bicycle riders will gather at 10:15 a.m. at the corner of Chapel and College Streets in New Haven, near an historical plaque that honors Lallement.
They’re scheduled to arrive at Webster Park in Ansonia at about 11 a.m., and local cyclists may join the ride there and follow the bikers up East Main to the firehouse and then back to Veterans Park, next to City Hall.
At a ceremony and rally honoring Lallement, Mayor James Della Volpe will proclaim Sunday as “Festival of Pierre Lallement Day” in Ansonia.
Other speakers will include bicycle enthusiast and Boston resident David V. Herlihy, the author of “Bicycle, The History,” Laura Burrone, a committee member of New Haven’s International Arts and Ideas event, and Ryan Amato, who won last year’s Festival essay contest with his entry, “The Ride of the Wooden Horse.”
Della Volpe said he’s pleased to be able to greet the riders as they arrive at City Hall.
“We’re celebrating the beginning of the bicycle,” he said.
O’Keefe said she’s glad the city is continuing to honor Lallement.
“I’m very pleased about the festival and that he’s getting the recognition he deserves,” she said.
There’s a small marker in Lallement’s honor at the start of Ansonia’s Riverwalk, and Derby officials installed a commemorative brick at the entrance of the Greenway.
The bicycle ride and the festival are a joint collaboration between the Ansonia Cultural Commission and the Economic Development Commission.
“It’s just such a great connection that we have with New Haven bicycle enthusiasts,” said Judy Nicolari, Cultural Commission chairman. “We’re looking forward to the ride, the ceremony and the bike festival. It should be a great day on Main Street in Ansonia.”
Local DJ Phyllis Kaplan will play inspirational music such as the theme from the film “Rocky” as bike riders arrive at Veterans Park, and snacks and drinks will be available for them.
A band from Ansonia High School, Four Skies Over, will perform until the Festival ends at 2:30 p.m.
The Valley Parish Nurse Program, based at Griffin Hospital in Derby, will distribute free bicycle helmets, and Devil’s Gear Bike Shop in New Haven will present people riding “high wheelers,” Scarlata said.
Rampage Skate Shop from Bridgeport, designers of BMX and skateboard ramps, will present trick skateboard demonstrations.
Ansonia businesses will also participate, including Massimino’s Pizzeria and Café 252, soon to open on Main Street across from City Hall.
Rich DiCarlo, chairman of the Valley Arts Council, will continue working on the mural he began at last year’s event.
The mural, painted in acrylics donated by Lowe’s, depicts Lallement riding his bicycle down Main Street.
DiCarlo will be on hand with a few VAC volunteers as they paint the mural on a mounted banner.
“It’s a fun event, and it will be nice to see it develop over the years,” DiCarlo said. “We’re all Valley people. We’re one community. We’ve got to support each other’s events.”
The Festival ties in with “Cinco de Mayo” activities farther up Main Street. Crave Restaurant will feature food and live music during the afternoon and evening.
Release forms for bicyclists under age 18 will be available starting at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at a registration table set up at Webster Park.
